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The Clone Wars Season 5 Episode 2 Review

Hello and welcome back to this week’s review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars! The season returns in it’s second episode of season five with the Jedi aiding a group of rebels on a separatist world in A War on Two Fronts. The episode features our main trio of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka. It also brings back Lux, who likes to show up in a completely different environments and with a completely different faction every time we see him. The episode takes place on the classic, expanded universe planet of Onderon. And while I very much enjoyed this classic Star Wars world brought into The Clone Wars, we are once again stuck in the “Wow these are really cool concepts and ideas being introduced, but we’re going to have to wait another week to see them put into action.” phase of the story arc.

Like I said before, the episode takes place on the world of Onderon, which has been seen in everything from the Tales of the Jedi comics, to the second Knights of the Old Republic video game. In all the material I had read of Onderon, the world always seemed to be in a state of civil war or in the midst of a play for power. So when I learned that the arc would be about exactly that, I already thought The Clone Wars had done Onderon justice. Later, upon seeing the designs and characteristics of the world shown, I was even more impressed. The Clone Wars team had even included the large beasts that the warriors of Onderon flew thousands of years before in the Tales of the Jedi. They managed to keep Onderon almost exactly the way I remembered it, yet still managing to feel fresh and new with the distinct style of the series.

I was kind of bummed when the topic debated in the council never made it anywhere in the episode. It brought up a great and somewhat real issue of the fine line of helping freedom fighters and helping terrorists. Not only was it a great concept, but they built on it quite well. First by having Anakin’s view conflict almost entirely with the council’s, I think it fits his character and his way of thinking so well, especially when shown in contrast to the council. The council views everything in perspective and tries to foresee problems in the long run, unlike Anakin who usually tries to find the quickest solution. The second is Lux, who has had similar moral dilemmas in the past trying to discover what is justice and what is revenge when he joined the Death Watch in order to get revenge on Dooku in season four. I’m confident they didn’t throw this character into the episode for nothing, as he fits so well into the topic of the arc. Let’s hope they do something worthwhile with him instead of just making him the love interest.

This brings me to my next point. This episode greatly revolved around the reoccurring Lux/Ahsoka complex, this time throwing in Steela to complicate things even further. I guess it started to work toward something, but it’s hard to tell if this could be the end of the before mentioned Lux/Ahsoka character arc. This certainly would be a good time to wrap it up. I can’t help but wonder exactly why they decided to bring up that Lux is still against the Republic and if that will play a role in the episodes to come. Part of me wishes that time spent on the tension between Ahsoka and Steela was given to Rex, showing him training one on one with some of the lesser known rebel fighters. This would have made a great sub plot for Rex, and it would have shown more background on the rebels, possibly even tying into some of the issues the arc is supposed to be dealing with in terms of whether the rebels are simply terrorists or not.

That’s going to wrap up my review for this week! All in all I thought it a good episode that introduced some really cool things to think about as the arc unfolds. Make sure you leave a comment below, as we want to know what you thought of A War on Two Fronts! Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you!

Ryan Zasso first entered the Star Wars fan community in early 2010 with the podcast Fanboy’s Guide to the Galaxy. Interested in doing Star Wars related writing, he began writing for the Star Wars Report in 2011.

Hunting For Fighter Pods

The month of September was spent looking for my new favorite line of Star Wars toys. The Star Wars fighter pods series is now in its 3rd wave as of this month in the United States. Series 1 originally was released in February of 2012 and the 2nd wave began hitting stores in August 2012. I began hunting them down in September and my quest was to find as many of Series 2 as possible before the month was out. I consider myself very lucky because I actually was able to get my hands on every figure that was not in a special exclusive pack.

In the midst of hunting down Series 2 I also was on a quest to complete my Series 1 collection. I was actually able to find the last set that I needed to complete the set of vehicle launchers, the Jedi Starfighter. I am missing a few figures from Series 1 still but not many. The one thing that is hindering that collection is the exclusive Darth Maul tin that can be found at Target. I have been looking at my Target stores but I have yet to find the tin. For obvious reasons the tin is needed so that I can complete the collection however, I really want the pack for the Darth Maul figures and Ziro the Hutt.

This is how I went about collecting Series 2. I first went out to a Target that I know does not get a lot of toy traffic just to see if they even had any fighter pods in stock on the shelf. To my surprise they actually had quite a few of the 4 packs. They did not have the blind mystery bags or any of the vehicle packs. So I grabbed a few and began checking them off of the checklist that they give you in the package. The next time I went out to get some I went to a bigger Target that was more likely to have more product but also gets shopped more. Turns out the selection was pretty sparse but they did have mystery bags, the 4 packs and that is where I found my series 1 Jedi Starfighter. I picked these up and was very excited to open the mystery bags. There are 6 exclusive figures in this wave that can be found in the mystery bags and I was fortunate enough to get 2 of these figures. I picked up 4 mystery bags and I got 2 exclusive figures. The 4 packs I got were mostly new figures but it was at this point that my duplicates started accumulating. I made a video to show the opening of the mystery bag figures and it can be found right here.

The next outing to find the ominous fighter pods was with my 11 year old nephew. We first went to Toys R Us and that was a pretty disappointing trip. Not only did they only have a few series 1 fighter pods but their selection of Star Wars merchandise was not that impressive. I have begun to really not hold much stock in Toys R Us or at least the one closest to me as it is always trashed and does not have much in stock. They did have the Ewok set though which I almost bought. My only reasons for not picking it up are because I am on a fighter pod only mission.

From here we went to a different Target and we were able to find a few 4 packs of Series 2 and the BARC Speeder Bike/Pirate Speeder Bike Pack. The next day and last day of the month I went one more time to one of the Targets I had been to already and I found a spectacular find, Series 3 mystery bags! There were only 2 but I was shocked and very excited so I picked them up and 2 more 4 packs.

These last 4 packs would complete the collection of individual figures with hologram Palpatine and a Shock Trooper. It is safe to say that the one major dealer I did not go to was Wal-Mart and had I gone to one I may have been able to find the other vehicle packs that I am missing and possibly more blind bags. I believe I am missing 8 figures in total from Series 2. The figures I am missing are exclusive to the vehicle packs and the mystery bags. I am also fortunate to have my hands on 4 figures from Series 3. All this means for me is that October may be a month of hunting down Series 3 and I am still looking for that Darth Maul Tin from series 1.

The most interesting thing I found with Series 2 was that there is a variant of Cad Bane. I first found out about this via Adam Pawlus at Galactic Hunter.com he posted some pictures of it so I knew to be on the lookout and I was actually able to get my hands on both versions.

It is still unclear if this was done on purpose but the version that has silver guns and silver bands on his hat was in a 4 pack and the version with black guns was in the speeder bike pack. However, I did see the Cad Bane with black guns in a 4 pack as well. If you can find both I would definitely try to get them both.

It was a fun month of hunting but it looks like I am in for another month of it with wave 3. I will keep you updated over at Fangirl Next Door with videos of my collection, pictures and updates. If you are looking for these cute little guys then happy hunting they sure are fun to knock over!

The Clone Wars Season 5 Episode 1 Review

First of all, welcome back to our weekly review of The Clone Wars here on the Star Wars Report! After much anticipation, season five of The Clone Wars is underway, beginning with a tale of pirates, evil plans and lots of cool lightsaber action. You could say that the premiere of The Clone Wars season five is off to a great start, minus some bad scheduling on the part of the network.

Back in black!

In the beginning of the episode we are reacquainted with the Sith, dynamic duo of Savage Opress and Darth Maul who are raiding ships in order to fulfill Maul’s mysterious plan that involves uniting the underworld under the banner of the Sith. I prefer that premise for a Maul story-line over what I thought they were going to do with him: essentially send him after Kenobi and then kill him off. That may still happen, but his secret agenda combined with the mystery still surrounding Maul and his background makes for something possibly hugely impactful in the Star Wars universe. What it is I do not yet know. Could he be after the Jedi? After the Sith? Maybe even both? If this allows us to get an entire season of Maul traversing the underworld, interacting with all sorts of scum and villainy in the Star Wars galaxy, I’ll be perfectly happy with season five. What we’ll actually get will probably be just that combined with a sophisticated plot, amazing combat scenes, and really good animation.

What was really insightful is how the different characters react to the threat of Maul and his plans. We have Kenobi, who is trying to see the situation as more than just your average evil plan. He believes there is something larger at work in the underworld as he states in the end of the episode. We also have the perspective of Palpatine, who’s attempt to keep the Jedi away from the whole thing hints at a few possibilities. That ploy could mean he’s going to take care of Maul himself, seeing Maul as a threat to his power, and to his role as a Sith Lord. The second possibility could mean that even Maul is just a pawn in Palpatine’s ultimate plan, whether Maul knows it or not. How Savage’s character will play out has the potential to be just as complex. While he’s found his brother, completing his purpose in season 3, what could happen to him now? Something tells me he doesn’t want to be Maul’s apprentice, but I doubt he’d openly betray his brother either, at least not anytime soon.

While I greatly enjoyed speculating about what Maul and Savage were up to, what made this episode so cool was Hondo. Hondo has always been a great character, but for some reason has never been this well written. I think I could watch an entire series about Hondo after seeing him in this episode! He was witty, he was clever, he acted like a real pirate and I perceived him as an influential leader to his kind rather than just some other, two dimensional, villain type character. I also thought bringing back a character that has been so well liked throughout the show since season one was a great idea, and a great place to start if this season is going to be centered around the underworld (At least for Maul’s story.) There haven’t been too many characters out there that have been on both good terms with, and enemy of, the Jedi. This I think makes him a valuable part of the show. I hope he comes up again in this season, as I really think they perfected The Clone Wars’ resident pirate character.

While I thought this episode set up a lot of interesting and fun things to come for the rest of the season, I can’t help but complain about the time-slot. First of all, Friday nights are the perfect time to watch things as a family right at the end of the school/work week, in my opinion. The Clone Wars was an event to look forward to at the end of a long day. Changing that to Saturday morning just feels like Cartoon Network wanted it out of the way for their other shows. I’m no longer able to watch the series in HD because it airs at 6:30 A.M. with my cable. If Saturday is one of the only days I can sleep in, there’s no way I’m going to go out of my way to see it during it’s air time. I know for a fact I’m not really going to have as much fun as when I’m watching it with my family on Friday night. I’ll just be half asleep and forget the episode in an hour. It’s unfortunate that I’m going to be missing out on the HD The Clone Wars episodes this season and instead have to watch it entirely online on starwars.com. Maybe I’m the only one with this problem, but I’m sure there are others out there who feel the same way. Hopefully it’ll get switched back by mid-season or sooner.

Anyways, sorry for the rant but I feel it detracts from my viewing experience to either have to be up quite early on a weekend, or watching it in less quality on starwars.com, and therefore deserved comment. Other than that, I think you already know I thought it was a great start to the season, and I can’t wait to see what happens next week! Be sure to check back every week for these reviews, and don’t forget to comment below to tell us what you thought of the episode! Thanks for reading and may the Force be with you!

Hello and welcome to our final review for season four of The Clone Wars! Season four has certainly been a wild ride, but did the last episode live up to its predecessors? In the season finale Maul has returned, angrier than ever, and looking for revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi! Below are my thoughts on the finale and a look back on the season.

In the beginning of the episode, Savage has taken Maul back to Dathomir in order to be healed by Mother Talzin. After getting some awesome new legs, not unlike the legs we’ve seen in the Visionaries comic, Maul plans to exact his vengeance on the Jedi. I found it interesting how, even after Talzin healed Maul, he still struggles with the Force. For a character that we know will be reoccurring at least in the next season, I think it’s fantastic that a villain in the show will have his own problems with the Force, and will have to not only fight the Jedi, but rebuild to his former level of strength at the same time. I’m curious to see how Maul evolves throughout next season, and if his path crosses with Sidious, and what that outcome would look like. Will he join the Separatists? Will he form a rivalry with his replacement, Dooku? His mind is on one track, revenge, but judging by his patience at the end of the episode, he’ll take any route necessary if it means getting Kenobi.

Star Wars: Visionaries Maul vs The Clone Wars Maul

Another big topic of the episode was Ventress. Now, having been betrayed by the Separatists, the Sith, and being the only Nightsister left (besides Mother Talzin), Ventress’s new career as a bounty hunter has driven her into an alliance with Kenobi. This sets up a battle between Asajj and her former servant Opress, and Obi-Wan and his master’s killer. To put it simply, it was incredible! We’ve seen a lot of lightsaber duels in The Clone Wars, even some that might’ve been similar to this one. But the fact that it were four people, one of whom could be considered a giant, in a tiny cargo hold of a ship that’s filled with supplies made it even more intense. Plus the banter between Kenobi and Ventress, which I have severely missed over the past few seasons, really added to the episode. As someone who watched season one, I greatly appreciated the nod to their established character relationship, making their alliance a highlight of the episode.

Something I would like to discuss was when Maul could feel Obi-Wan’s rage. And it could’ve been something small that Maul just said to distract Obi-Wan, but what if this was something that could affect Obi-Wan later on? It would certainly be something to shake things up since Obi-Wan throughout all the films really never struggles with any issues similar to Anakin’s. So if Maul struggles with re-mastering his Force abilities and Obi-Wan starts to struggle with his rage against Maul, pitting the two disadvantaged characters against each other is a cool concept.

Revenge was a very good episode. And I think that this is the first finale where we get left on a cliffhanger ending. I loved how Maul was portrayed, and the alliance between Ventress and Kenobi that will continue into the next season. I really think that this episode was the strongest finale we’ve seen yet for The Clone Wars.

I would also like to say that season four of the series was the best it could possibly be, and easily the best season of The Clone Wars yet. It had a bit of a rocky start, nothing too bad, but nothing fantastic. We’ve seen episodes like the Mon Calamari ones before, and the Jar Jar episodes weren’t too bad either, but very predictable. I think when I reached the Krell arc I was amazed with season 4. The writing suddenly skyrocketed, the action intensified, and the stories became suspenseful and totally unpredictable. Since then, we’ve gotten stories about mandalorians, bounty hunters, Nightsisters, and slavers. This was not a boring season by any means, and there was a huge variety of stories packed into twenty two episodes, which are all beautifully animated. I was so impressed with how this season turned out compared to the last one that I can’t wait for season five, and to see what they can improve even more! Great work Clone Wars team!

And that wraps up my final review for the season! I would like to thank you all for reading these over the past months; I can’t wait to come back and start reviewing season five! Anyways, if you have any comments regarding this last episode, or the whole season, feel free to leave a comment below! See you in September and may the Force be with you… always!